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The world's investment banking leaders appear to have become entrenched in their pecking order, despite a period of profound macro-economic instability and flux in the capital markets.

Eight of the top 10 investment banks will finish this year in exactly the same places as they finished last year, according to Dealogic rankings of banks by their global investment banking revenues.

The top four firms by global revenues are unchanged on 2009, with JP Morgan in first place; Bank of America Merrill Lynch in second, Goldman Sachs in third and Morgan Stanley in fourth.

The only movers in the top 10 are Deutsche Bank, which jumped two places to fifth place, and Citigroup which dropped two places to seventh.

Credit Suisse remained in sixth place; UBS in eighth; Barclays Capital in ninth; and Royal Bank of Scotland in 10th.

This stability in rankings belies a complete shift in how and where the banks make their money. Total revenues from investment banking fees globally across the industry were $66.2bn as of December 21, just 8% up on the $61bn for the full year 2009. However, the geographical break-down looked very different.

The Americas contributed $34.2bn, which represents 52% of global investment banking revenues, compared to 45% in 2009. Europe contributed $16.2bn, which represents 25% of global revenues compared to 33% last year; and emerging markets contributed $13.4bn, which represents 20% of the total, compared to 16% last year. It is the highest share on record for emerging markets.

In terms of how the banks made their revenues, syndicated loans and leveraged loans both played a far more significant role than last year. Total revenues from syndicated loans were 117% up on last year at $10.3bn, while revenues from leveraged loans were up 169% to $6.8bn.